Why Me?
by ennisjackgal
Summary: In which Mycroft lets Sherlock walk away without the sheet.


**Why Me?**

"Put you clothes on," Mycroft repeated, glaring at his brother. He could be very stubborn.

"Don't see why I have to if you won't give me any information about my client," Sherlock replied, shrugging. Before anybody could stop him, he'd let go of the sheet and was starting to walk away. John groaned with irritation and grabbed the pile of clothes before hurrying after his friend.

"Sherlock!" he yelled as he tried to catch up, going red in the face when he saw his naked friend strolling down the corridor. They were bound to be caught if this carried on. "Please stop before someone sees you!"

"There's no point in us staying here, John," Sherlock said matter-of-factly. "Complete waste of time and I did not intend to leave the flat today."

John finally caught up with him, trying to keep his eyes averted. This was embarrassing. "I know, but Mycroft sounds like they need your help. You're not doing anything else today..." They were walking through various corridors, each of them very elaborate and well decorated. John remembered with a flash of panic that the palace held tours on a regular basis and prayed that they wouldn't run into anyone while Sherlock was naked.

"Irrelevant. I will not take a case with only half the data I need," Sherlock told him, rounding a corner. John was so terrified that they were about to run into tourists or worse, a member of the Royal Family. They would be thrown out for sure. But Sherlock seemed to know where he was going.

"For God's sake," John sighed, trying to give Sherlock the clothes. "Sherlock, please, take them!"

"No," Sherlock said stubbornly, carrying on. John looked around them nervously and hoped that nobody had spotted them yet; why did he have to put up with this?

John soon took to walking slightly ahead of Sherlock when they got near a corner, hoping to stop him if there were people. When he rounded one and saw a group of tourists he held Sherlock back and ignored the protests from his friend. "Shh, there's people around the corner and I'm sure they didn't come to see you!" he hissed, glaring at the detective. "Just put these on, Sherlock!"

They stared each other down for several seconds, Sherlock trying to figure out why John was acting like this. "You're concerned about what people will think if they see me like this around you." It wasn't a question.

John gave him a look. "No, I'm not. But this is embarrassing, Sherlock. Think about where we are; this is completely wrong and you have to get dressed before someone sees you!"

Sherlock peered at him. "I'm right, aren't I? You think people will get the wrong impression."

"Okay, maybe a bit. There, happy? Now get dressed." He held the clothes out, and Sherlock decided to spare his blushes; it really wasn't fair to do this to his friend. John sighed when Sherlock finally took the clothes and nodded to him. "Thank you. I'll keep an eye out."

Sherlock watched with some confusion; he didn't understand why John got so offended when someone assumed they were a couple. They knew the truth, so surely that was the only thing that mattered? Why should they care what people think? He got dressed and then went to tap John on the shoulder. "Shall we, then?"

"Yeah, come on," John agreed, leading the way down the corridor. The tourists didn't even look twice at them as they passed, which John was grateful for.

"Does it really bother you so much that people think we're together?" Sherlock asked, looking at John curiously. John sighed.

"Yes, it does. Because it happens pretty much all the time and I get sick of it."

"But...we know the truth and that should be all that matters," Sherlock pointed out. "I don't understand why it bothers you so much if it's not true. Would you be ashamed if there was something between us?"

John stopped in his tracks and looked at him. "No, of course not. You're my friend and...if there was something...I don't think I'd mind at all. But I get sick of people assuming without asking us first." He sighed. "But if it were true then I wouldn't care. As it is...it really pisses me off. And you never deny it, so..."

"Because I couldn't care less," Sherlock told him, shrugging. "People can think whatever they want to, as long as they do not act upon it in a way that causes us harm."

John knew he was right, but he just couldn't shake off his annoyance. He did need Sherlock in his life, no matter how much the detective could irritate him. But people just didn't seem to understand and automatically assumed that it meant they were gay. "Right," he replied before carrying on. Sherlock walked after him as they finally made their way to an exit on the main road. The sooner they got out of here, the better. "Anyway, what now? Will you help Mycroft after all?"

"If he gives me more information then I will consider it," Sherlock replied, putting his coat on as they found the door and headed towards it. "Until then he will have to deal with this by himself." It was no secret that Sherlock didn't like his brother all that much.

John nodded; he still thought that Sherlock should help but he knew his friend; he had a very stubborn streak and did things his own way. But he was fairly certain that Sherlock would relent at some point; he hated having no cases and was bound to be a little intrigued by the summons. John also hated it when Sherlock was bored; he never handled it well.

As they made their way back to Baker Street, John soon came to realise that it really didn't matter what other people thought about their relationship. It was annoying, but he still had a good friend and that was the only thing he truly cared about.


End file.
